Weymouth area - things to do on holiday

[Higgeldypickeldy]

Off to Bowleaze holiday park in a couple of weeks and don't know the area around Weymouth at all. Can anyone local to the area give me some top tips on what to see and do? Probably within an hours drive of Weymouth. Kids are 11 and 9. Thanks!

I’m not local but have stayed at that holiday park lots of times over the years and my two boys loved it.

Things we enjoyed were Monkey World (definitely!), Lulworth Cove, Tank Museum, Portland bill lighthouse, Chesil beach, Weymouth harbour, Nothe fort. I’ll probably think of loads more!

Hope you have a great time.

My kids were that age when we went, they loved
-.chesil beach
-.portland bill lighthouse

• the beach (especially hiring pedalos!)
• the arcades
• lulworth cove
• the lifting bridge in the harbour
• the sea life centre (they have been to quite a few and still loved this one)

Nothe fort is great! Weymouth beach is fab. Also Sandworld, which is located at Lodmoor Country Park, where there is also mini golf and a few other things. Also you can go crabbing at the harbour and it's pretty easy to catch the crabs - we haven't had much luck anywhere else!

Open top bus along the coast. Steam train Corfe to Swanage. Corfe Castle. Sunflower Maze in Dorchester. Bovington Tank Museum. Nothe Fort. Boat trips.

If you like cycling, cycle along the Rodwell Trail taking in Sandsfoot Castle and its twin Portland Castle,
Crabbing on the harbour, and walk through Hope Square, along the stone pier, and visit Nothe Fort.
Swanage railway and Corfe Castle (Dulston Country Park is also nice -but maybe further than your hour travel limit)
We live in Weymouth and my boys (same ages) like Tout Quarry Nature Reserve and Sculpture Park - Visit Dorset (visit-dorset.com) but it may not appeal to everyone.
We also like going to Moreton for the ford, and the heath walks.
You can walk to the Smugglers Inn at Osmington Mills from Bowleaze if you like pubs - it's a 5 mile round walk.
My boys love Fantasy Island - but it's very loud and probably a bit tired if you are used to decent theme parks.
Loads of beach rides to choose from.
Ice Cream | Rossi's Ices Ltd | Weymouth (rossisweymouth.com)

If you let me know what you are all into, I'll give it some thought.

The quarry looks fab @PreesHeath ! Am making a note for our next trip. My children love Weymouth

In laws live in Bowleaze, we love the beach, kids love fantasy island. We like the Smugglers Inn pub and watch the fireworks there (on Nov 5th) but not a fan of the Ship Inn which is on the main road from Osmington to Weymouth. We also love the sculpture Park and anything on Portland. There is a big park in Dorchester that the kids loved when they were little. We have done Northe Fort, Monkey World, the Tank museum, Abbotsbury, Corfe Castle and love exploring around the area. There’s a little duck pond in Sutton Poyntz and the Springhead Pub, which is a lovely location - actually going for pizza soon

A few others:
Dorchester - has lots of museums
The Etches Museum in Kimmeridge
You can visit quite a bit along the Jurassic Coast in under an hour: Charmouth, Lyme Regis, Seaton, Beer, Branscombe
Abbotsbury Subtropical Gardens & Abbotsbury Swannary

If you want a lovely still wild beach, Ringstead Bay is lovely. At low tide there is a protected channel between the rocks that may a nice calm sheltered spot to paddle about. There are also lovely footpaths along the coast. You can walk up to the headland to the east or west to the pub at Ossmington.

Thanks everyone for the top tips. Sounds like there will be plenty to keep us busy. Ringstead Bay, the pubs sculpture land and fantasy island all sound great. Thank you 😊